Ant and Dec: ‘There’s a plan to bring back the drag queens – we loved it’ ‘I think we realised it was a statement to a degree, but I don’t think we realised how big a statement it was until afterwards,’ Declan Donnelly – one half of Ant and Dec – tells me as we meet in their dressing room.
On February 19, 2022, at the end of an episode of Saturday Night Takeaway, And and Dec introduced Lady Antionette and Miss Donna Lee to viewers – their new drag queen personas.
Ant McPartlin and his teammate of the last 30 years, Dec, are without a doubt the country’s most cherished and valued presenters.
Even two years on over the Christmas period, just the appearance of any drag queen on mainstream television sparked enough complaints to be trending across social media – mainly X.
Everything they touch brings in millions of viewers, they’re easily the safest bet for success – but they haven’t earned their unbroken record of 24 NTAs for best presenter by avoiding risks.
